Pear Mountain Oolong (Snow Pick)

The snow pick is least like a green tea among all 4 of them. together with the fall pick, they have the thickest mouthfeel. It is the most reminiscent of Tie Guan Yin. I find it to be very complex, although maybe not as tasty as fall.

There are a lot of elusive notes, the likes of vanilla, sugarpeas, spaghetti squash, milk, lime, coffee, blueberry leaves. The taste is very delicate and crisp, with mostly sweet, floral and vegetal qualities. On top of that, there is a light alcohol character of the aftertaste. Apart from the complexity, the smooth, velvety is the highlight.

Once I also tried a 20 min long simmer at the end of the session. It was not spectacular, but interesting for sure. It smells like stewed kale, butter and a cake of sorts. The taste is lighter than I expected, but it has new notes of menthol and lettuce. The mouthfeel is lubricating and thick with no astringency.

I finished this one off last night with a friend, and I never quite got the same notes no matter how consistent or different my brewing styles were. Gong fu cha in my shiboridashi yielded an influx of buttery corn bread notes accented by osmanthus and lilac, and then passed into a floral crescando of honeysuckle, osmanthus, lilac, and then ended with some faint honey hints and lime hints in the end. Western had more honeysuckle notes, with fresh greens, collards, and lime zest barely in the accents. There were times were it was more sweet like butterscotch, and times more vegetal. I’ve gotten more fresh notes like sugarcane and watercress with a very small amount of leaves western. Butter, lilac, honeysuckle, osmanthus, and lime zest reoccurred the most in flavor.

This was almost my favorite of the sampler because it was fairly versatile. I did occasionally have some astringency here and then reminiscent of a sheng because of how I brewed it, but it was definitely oolong and on the greener side. I’d recommend this for those looking to get a cheaper alternative for a snow pick. I’ve coveted others for a heavier price, and this one was different enough to stand out from previous Li Shan’s I’ve had. Rating for me personally as a result of the occasional astringency is between 88 and 92